My last night in continental Europe was spent just outside Calais, not far from the EuroTunnel station. I got in late after a long day’s riding, so didn’t get to take many photos. Here’s a handful of my favorites from my walk around the area near the campground.
Exploring Le Mans
I spent an afternoon in Le Mans, home of the 24 hour auto race! In addition to cars (I couldn’t find the car museum), there’s a beautiful old medieval section of the town right near the city center.
Sarlat, France
One of the other villages I visited was the village of Sarlat. Also medieval, the big difference between it and Beynac is that Sarlat wasn’t built into cliffs, so it’s much more flat 🙂 the old town center still has an exceptional number of well-preserved buildings from the 13th and 14th centuries, and it was […]
Beynac, Dordogne River Valley, France
I spent the last couple of days camped at Motocamp Dordogne (as you might guess, in the Dordogne region of France). It proved to be a great base for exploring some incredibly beautiful medieval villages. This photo set focuses on Beynac and the Chateau de Beynac. The chateau dates back to the mid 1100s and […]
Exploring Bilbao
While the Guggenheim certainly took up a lot of my time, it’s not all there is to see! I walked through the medieval old town (Bilbao was founded in 1300), which was very cool with lots of narrow, winding streets. I even found a bust of American President John Adams, presumably because he wrote of […]
At The Guggenheim
I spent a good part of my morning in Bilbao touring the Guggenheim, something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. The building is easily as impressive as the art. I saw two temporary exhibits, one commemorating the 50th anniversary of Georges Braque’s death (this contained pieces from his entire life’s work, and […]
Beach Vibes In Sopela, Spain
I camped about 15 km outside of Bilbao, in the seaside community of Sopelana. Happily, the beach was only a 5 minute walk (at night, I could hear the surf crashing in my tent – so relaxing!) so I spent a sunny afternoon begging out on the beach people-watching and relaxing in the sand.
Santiago Cathedral, Spain
The Santiago Cathedral was initially founded back in the 11th century (if I remember correctly), after someone saw a vision that directed him to the remains of Saint James the apostle, whose remains had been brought to the area after his martyrdom. The original cathedral was built to encourage both devotion and pilgrimages to his […]
Exploring Santiago (Thanks, Billy Bragg)
Santiago was a really interesting stop on my journey. Not only is it incredibly significant to Catholics (more on that in my next photo set), but I also had to have the water pump replaced on my bike, which resulted in my spending an extra day in Santiago. I spent one of my days hanging […]
Pamplona, Spain
Ahhh, Pamplona. Home of the running of the bulls (fortunately not while I was there) and one of the early stops on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St James). I had beautiful weather for exploring the city and found it really easy to navigate. I particularly enjoyed the walled fort – in the green […]